Recommended Song AND Lollapalooza Day 1 Recap

Brooklyn,NY

8/7/09: Colors, by April Smith

Listen to it HERE

So, I was chosen to be an "official fan correspondent" this year at Lollapalooza for LP33.tv (I did it, it was fun, I wasn't great) and I got lost trying to find the media tend Friday morning. I ended up tagging alongside another person searching for the media tent, and they recommended I check out April Smith. I decided I'd look her up online later instead, as I was determined to see Hockey, but when I heard her music walking by I had to stop in. She was fabulous! She has a great voice, and randomly her song lyrics caught my attention ("When it comes to my man, I will fight like a boy.") BIG fan. Click her pic to hear more music.

She also introduced me to the website Kickstarter, which claims to be "a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers..." I LOVE this. Check it out. Some of the many cool projects featured on there include:

• Helping Polyvinyl Records save 10,000 records from destruction
• Helping the first unassisted paraplegic to summit Mt Kilimanjaro
• Funding April Smith's next album

They have a really cool philosophy around payment, click HERE to check it out.

Enjoy!


Lollapalooza, Day 1 :)

Despite the fact that at one point in the day both of my thumbs were numb from being so cold, it was phenomenal. LOVED it, of course. Here's a recap of my day, and feel free to check out my twitter feed, as I also "tweeted my Lolla experience."

I stopped by April Smith (Brooklyn, NY) first, and they busted out an old Samsonite suitcase as an instrument. I really liked her show, hence today's recommendation.

Then I headded to Hockey (Portland, OR). I don't remember what put such a positive impression in my head about them, but I was really excited to see them. When I got there they were riled up with energy, but then suddenly all the music stopped. I'm assuming the rain messed something up, but it took awhile for sound to come back. The band passed the time by throwing cans of beer into the crowd. :) When the sound finally did come back, the band quickly line-checked and jumped right back into another song, only for the sound to go out again before the song was over. It really sucks for them, and for us. But mostly for them.

From Hockey I checked out Manchester Orchestra (Atlanta, GA). I just recommended them, so I was excited to see them live. They sounded really good, but I felt inspired to make the hike from the Budweiser stage on the north side to the 2016 stage on the south side to see Rockford's Hey Champ. Apparently Lupe thinks they're a big deal, and I thought they were pretty cool. Nothing FABulous in my book though. Check out some of Hey Champ on my YouTube channel HERE.

I stopped at Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (Austin, TX) next. They were awesome. Check out this clip I took during their show:

I did pause as I passed The Knux (Hollywood/New Orleans), because they sounded pretty good, but I didn't get to really check them out. I had to run to my "fan correspondent" gig w/LP33.tv. I taped a segment in Q101's Hammock Haven. Let's just say, if I ever become famous or run for office, I'm sure - somehow - that tape will appear. That will be awesome...

I stopped by Amazing Baby (Brooklyn, NY) next, and while I liked what I heard, I didn't fall in love. We left after a few songs and got some food and prepared to make our way over to Bon Iver (Northwestern, WI). I would have certainly enjoyed Bon Iver more had I not been freezing. Really, the cold distracted me during Bon Iver, Ben Folds, (Nashville, TN) and Fleet Foxes (Seattle, WA). I was determined to enjoy Of Montreal (Sunlandia/Athens, GA), which is where I headed after Fleet Foxes, so I grabbed a bottle of wine to warm up with. It helped. :)

OF MONTREAL was, is and forever-shall-be, FABULOUS. I'm in love with Kevin Barnes, and their music. I was SOOOO excited for this moment since the day I saw the line-up. It. Was. Awesome. :)

After Of Montreal I could barely walk... stumbled over to watch a bit of Depeche Mode, but can't say I was able to soak any of it in. We headed out early to catch Lykke Li (Stockholm, Sweden) at Bottom Lounge. Here's a clip from that show:

Here are some random pictures I took throughout the day. It's not creepy, just capturing the environment...


It was a FABulous Day 1 :) I hope you all had an equally rewarding day, if not more! Day 2's recap is up next...

Tracy :)

To visit MY blog postings for the artists that played on Day 1, check out these links:

Of Montreal1
Of Montreal2
Fleet Foxes
Bon Iver
Manchester Orchestra
Andrew Bird
Peter, Bjorn and John
Depeche Mode
White Lies